US charges American citizen with conspiring to kill soldiers in Afghanistan
Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh, a member of al Qaeda’s paramilitary force in Afghanistan and Pakistan, was involved in a double suicide attack in Khost, Afghanistan in 2009.
Monthly Archives: January 2016
Ghana falsely claims 2 former Guantanamo detainees were ‘cleared of any involvement’ in terrorism
Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration said in a statement that it has accepted two Guantanamo detainees who “have been cleared of any involvement in terrorist activities, and are being released.” But that is not true. Neither one of the detainees was “cleared” by President Obama’s Guantanamo Review Task Force. One of the two was previously deemed a “high risk” by Joint Task Force – Guantanamo.
Hezbollah responds to Israeli assassination of commander
Despite the exchange of threats between Israel and Hezbollah, the latest attack in the Shebaa Farms does not indicate a large-scale confrontation is on the horizon.
YPG claims to have killed nearly 6,000 enemy fighters in 2015
The Kurdish YPG (or People’s Defense Units) has released a summary of its operations for 2015. The YPG claims to have killed nearly 6,000 “enemy” fighters, most of whom likely belonged to the Islamic State, while losing just 680 of its own members in combat. The statistics provided by the YPG imply a kill ratio of nearly 9 to 1, which obviously seems high.
US soldier killed while fighting the Taliban in Helmand
The reintroduction of US and British forces in Helmand has not prevented the districts of Nowzad, Musa Qala, and Sangin from falling to the Taliban.
Islamic State ‘province’ releases photos from raids on Libyan oil facilities
The Islamic State’s Libyan “province” has released photos documenting yesterday’s assault on an oil facility in the port town of Al Sidr.
Islamic State’s Libyan ‘province’ launches new offensive
The Islamic State’s Libyan “province” claims to have captured the town of Bin Jawad on the Mediterranean coast. The group also launched attacks on oil facilities in two of Libya’s ports.
Afghan forces raid Taliban ‘jail’ in Helmand
While the operations against the Taliban prisons in Nahr-i-Sarraj and Now Zad highlight potential capabilities of Afghanistan’s Special Security Forces, they also emphasize the worsening security situation in Helmand province.
Jaish-e-Mohammed suspected in assault on Indian airbase
The assault on the airbase is thought to have been executed by Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based jihadist group with close ties to al Qaeda. Jihadists reportedly said they were going to avenge a Jaish-e-Mohammed operative who was executed for his role in the 2001 assault on India’s Parliament.